Note from the Network: clarity and focus

This is the first of a series of regular updates from the leadership team within the Mahabba Network. They will be published here on the blog, but the best way to stay up to date is to sign up for our newsletter; you will receive a prompt when the latest one is available.

Clarity and focus

A Mahabba update from the leadership team – July 2018

Welcome to the first of a new series of Mahabba Updates for everyone involved with Mahabba.

1. Vision day

The trustees called a Vision Day with the aim of bringing clarity and focus to Mahabba’s vision, structure and operation. Understandably, this ‘day’ has developed into a process, which involved a very significant and well-led discussion on 12th June, but which is still ongoing.

All involved believe that the Mahabba initiative, emphasising a relational engagement with Muslims, is crucially important for our country at this time, for the UK church, for the long-standing Muslim community here and for Muslims arriving as refugees.

We now have a better understanding of what we are about and over the summer we aim to identify the right words to express that clearly in both a comprehensive and memorable statements. This is crucial to achieving clarity and focus and we ask for your prayers.

2. Leadership

Since Gordon Hickson focused on the growth of Mahabba International, Mahabba UK has sought to function with leadership teams, but there have been misunderstandings and different expectations. We have decided to strengthen leadership in these ways:

The Board will start the process of exploring leadership options and looking for the personnel needed to give long-term leadership

The Executive Team (made up of the Board chair and treasurer, two facilitators and the Hub Manager) will provide day to day decisions about the organisation and provide leadership for Mahabba UK. Bryan Knell will lead the Executive Team, as a way of providing leadership in the short-term. (The Board recognises that it is not good practice for the chair of the trustees to lead the Executive Team in the long-term.)

The Network Team of facilitators will engage with Mahabba’s network of groups in the UK and continue to connect with local coordinators in cities. This team will be led by Phil G

3. Finance

Mahabba is rapidly running out of money. Despite numerous applications, we have not had any significant grant income for several months. The trustees decided that recent experience suggests we cannot rely on, assume or plan for any grant income but need to reduce our expenditure to match the £1,000 that comes in regularly from individual donors.

The trustees have decided that from the end of June:

Facilitators will function on a self-supporting basis, although expenses will be claimable

The Hub Manager, Simon, will be reduced to one day a week

We cannot at this stage afford to hire a fundraiser

These decisions are inevitable if the trustees are to act responsibly, but it will bring financial difficulty and uncertainty to several people and some may feel they have to look for paid employment elsewhere.

Thanks for your interest and support. God is doing amazing things and it is a great time to be alive.